6-figure federal pensions drag on system in red

Ex-leaders help make deficit swell to $674b

WASHINGTON - Almost 15,000 federal retirees - including former leaders of Congress, a university president, and a banker - are receiving six-figure pensions from a system that faces a $674.2 billion shortfall.

About one of every 125 retired federal civilian workers collects more than $100,000 in benefits annually. They include physicians, postal workers, and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, according to data obtained by Bloomberg News under the federal Freedom of Information Act.